Kamen Rider Nova
by TEKNAM
Summary: It's been four years since Krux was defeated. Rallen, Jeena, and Aldous have enjoyed golden peace for the longest time they've ever known/ But, when an old foe arrives, Rallen must jump into action once again, only now with new power. Trial One-shot.
1. EP1: CHRISTMAS CHAOS: FROST VS NOVA!

Teck: Hey all! I'm back, just dropping in again to check in on ya. Ok, this is an idea that I ran by my younger brother, and he thought it was a dumb idea. However, I thought it would be cool, and only JUST recently came up with a name. It takes place four years after the events of Spectrobes: Origins. So, I'm going to let you guys decide if this should become an actually story or not. If you do, leave a smile in your comments. Also, just so you know, I have to "INVENT" several things for this story, which, if it becomes a true story, will occasionally have Rallen and Jeena acting OOC, and will eventually center on Rallen and Jeena's relationship. So, Again, Enjoy, and let me know!

**Kamen Rider Nova**

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**EP1: CHRISTMAS CHAOS: FROST VS NOVA!  
**

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**Play OP: "YA-YA-YA" - AAA**

A quiet dusting of snow fell silently on the small planet of Kollin. It was winter, and everyone was rushing to finish their work so they could hurry home to their families. All except for three people, who walked down the man-made metal: a boy in a patrolman's uniform, with large white headphones on, from which you could clearly here EXACTLY what he was listening to; a pink-haired girl in an open white vest and headset, looking completely down; a tall, middle-aged man with a long, scruffy facial hair wearing a long, brown trench coat. All three were wearing winter coats and had an aura emanating from them of the worst holiday blues you'd ever seen.

"So, what are your plans for the holidays, Aldous? You have no home world anymore, and you have no one here, so I was just wondering…" the boy said, pulling one of his large headphones off his head, turning down his music so that he could hear the response.

"Honestly, Rallen," the girl said, turning to the boy and smacking him across the back of the head, "could you be any MORE carefree? You don't have to remind the poor guy!" She turned back to face the older man, and nervously said, "Sorry about him, Aldous. Apparently he still hasn't grown out of childhood. Please, just ignore him like I do."

Aldous shook his hairy head, saying, "No, no, Jeena, It's quite alright. I'm just surprised that Rallen still hasn't learned about common courtesy. Anyway, to answer your question, Rallen, I have no plans. I was going to find myself a good hotel room and just sleep the holidays away."

Jeena gasped, putting an arm around Aldous' large frame, then said, "Well, why don't you crash at my place? Though it'll be annoying, cause RALLEN'S gonna be there…" she moaned, hoping Rallen hadn't heard that.

"Don't worry, Jeena, I didn't hear a word of that. I'll find a hotel this Christmas, so you won't have to put up with me," Rallen said, his emotions finally getting the better of him as he turned and ran off.

"Wait, Rallen, where are you going?" Jeena called after him, starting to chase him. If it weren't for Aldous laying his hand on her shoulder to stop her, she might have caught him.

"No, Jeena, don't follow him. Right now all Rallen needs is some alone time. I'll gladly bunk with you. And don't worry about me, I'll sleep on the couch." Aldous smiled a big, furry grin, cheering Jeena up slightly.

Jeena started laughing, making Aldous ask, "What's so funny?"

"You look like a big, cuddly teddy bear, Aldous!" Jeena squealed, jumping on him like a schoolgirl. Aldous stumbled back a bit, surprised at the sudden action of his young friend.

Jeena smiled, then said, "The only thing that bugs me is what Rallen said a few years ago, after he beat Krux. You know, that thing about Krux being part human? And how he escaped? I wonder what Krux is planning…"

Aldous stopped smiling and took on a more serious tone when he said, "Well, whatever it is, that might be one contributing factor of Rallen's stress. He's had to deal with the Krawl threat on two separate occasions, and the last time he found out he's facing a Krawl-enhanced meta-human. There's a high chance that Rallen's thoughts were on when another attack would occur, or something quite similar. But, for now, we should let him be. He needs time to get himself together." Jeena simply nodded as she led the way to her small, two-bedroom apartment.

"So, I never really got to know much about you and Rallen. Why are you and Rallen not spending the holidays with your own families?" Aldous asked. He quickly realized that he may have hit a tender spot when Jeena's eyes widened, then darkened.

"I'd rather not talk about it," she said, a cloud of gloom hanging over her head. Aldous decided to stay off the topic until he could talk with Rallen, the joy that would end up being. Aldous' eyes rolled as he thought of talking to Rallen. Speaking of which, where had the boy run off to?

~ELSEWHERE…~

Rallen sat amongst piles of boxes, releasing a slow, steady stream of tears. Even though it was strictly against his style, he couldn't help but let it out.

"Come on, man! STOP CRYING!" he shouted to himself, smashing his left hand into a particularly strong box, smashing the crystal-like object embedded in his armour. "Oh, great, now I've done it. Why'd I have to get like this? Now I've gone and broken my Prizmod. I don't think this'll work as well now. I'd better bring this to Aldous. He should be able to fix it." Standing up, he walked back down the alley to where he'd left Aldous and Jeena, only to find that they weren't there.

"Aw, great, this is just wonderful. At least I know where they'd be headed to. I'd better get to Jeena's place," Rallen sighed, turning in the direction of his destination. However, he remained oblivious to the set of dark black eyes that watched him walk away.

~LATER~

Jeena sat at her table, pouring Aldous a glass of wine, sipping her own glass of milk at the same time. She'd have to be able to multi-task, or she couldn't call herself a technician. Aldous, however, was perfectly calm, a small tinge of red now beginning to creep across his face as the alcohol worked its magic. Jeena smiled at Aldous, secretly amazed that he'd already put away thirteen FULL glasses of wine, and was still almost completely sober.

"Wow, Aldous, you Giornians know how to hold your liquor! And you also apparently don't hold any belief for superstition…" she said, noticing that Aldous had just passed the thirteen drink count. Thirteen… the unlucky number…

"SORRY I'M LATE!" shouted a familiar voice as Rallen blew through the door, covered in a light coating of snow. In one hand he carried two bags of snacks, in the other a duffel bag. Jeena ran over and hugged Rallen, who, surprised, put his full arms around her.

"I'm sorry about earlier, Rallen, I shouldn't have said that. It was totally mean of me, and I should have just kept quiet. I forgot how hard things are for you at Christmas, and-" Jeena was cut off as Rallen Gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.

"You don't have to apologize, Jeena. I should learn to control myself a little better. It's my fault. I'm sorry for making you worry about me. I'll keep myself better in check from now on, OK?" he said, smiling as he let go of her and took off his coat, bringing the food into the dining room and greeting Aldous with a hearty call of, "ALDOUS! YOU READY TO PARTY?"

Jeena stood in the hall, touching her cheek. Rallen had NEVER done anything like this before, so this sudden burst of affection and apology had taken her aback.

"YO JEENA, ARE YOU COMIN' OR WHAT? ALL THE GOOD STUFF WILL BE GONE IN NO TIME IF YOU DON'T HURRY UP!" Rallen shouted from the table as he and Aldous poured each other a hearty glass of wine. Jeena smiled. She was going to like this new Rallen, even if he had his issues.

"DON'T EAT ALL THE CHOCOLATES! THOSE ARE MINE! I'LL HURT YOU IF MY FAVES ARE GONE!" She shouted as she ran to the table.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully, as all three acted like total children, playing, eating, and getting drunk. Several toasts were made, and several wine glasses were broken as the three toasted with enough force to break the door off an armoured car.

Around midnight, however, Jeena got up and stumbled off to her room, saying, "Alright, you five… I'm going to sleep… DON'T GO GETTING ANY IDEAS!" she took two steps into her room and collapsed onto her bed, half sprawled on her bed and half on the floor. Meanwhile, Rallen and Aldous, both almost totally drunk, continued to talk.

"So, Rallen, I asked Jeena earlier about why you two weren't spending Christmas with your families, but she just got totally depressed and told me to be quiet. What's the deal?" Aldous asked, and immediately, Rallen's carefree exterior became serious and sober.

"Well, the truth is," Rallen began, "Jeena and I are both orphans. We never knew our parents. I grew up on the streets of Korinan, a small punk town just a few miles outside of the capital. I knew from an early age that I'd have to get violent to survive, and eventually became almost murderous in every facet of my being. However, when I turned 8, I left to come to the capital, and met Jeena in an alley. After a few weeks with her, my murderous nature died away, and I became happy. I decided that as long as I was with her, I wouldn't have to kill anymore. As we grew up together, we noticed different things changing about each other: Jeena wanted to become a technician, and after being saved from a mugger by a patrolman at thirteen, I decided that I wanted to become one myself. So, we went to school, and both joined the Nanairo Planetary Patrol two years later. All we've ever had was each other, so we've become more like brother and sister than just friends."

When Rallen finished, he turned to Aldous, who now shared his serious expression. Aldous looked away for a second, then said, "That explains why you two are so close." Rallen nodded, then pulled out the duffel bag. From it, he pulled his broken Prizmod.

Aldous stared at it, then said, "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO THIS? A Prizmod isn't supposed to break this badly!"

Rallen scratched his head nervously, then said, "I kinda smashed my hand into a really hard box in an alley, and I forgot the Prizmod was on my arm when I did, so… yeah. Can you fix it?"

"Well," Aldous said, looking at it with a worried expression, "I should be able to fix it in a couple months, now that Krux is out of the picture… at least temporarily…" Rallen sighed. If he'd only been a little more careful, this wouldn't have happened…

Suddenly, a blast erupted from behind them, shooting rubble and glass everywhere. Rallen and Aldous strained to see what was happening, but gasped as they saw the figure of one once defeated: A tall, blue-skinned, humanoid Krawl stood in a hole in the wall. Jeena ran out, and saw the rubble everywhere.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TWO DOING? I THOUGH I TOLD YOU NOT… TO Get.. Any… ideas… Oh God," was all Jeena could get out before the figured rushed her and punched her in the stomach, winding her and knocking her unconscious. As it stood up, Jeena slung over its shoulder, and smiled a dark smile.

"Well, well… Rallen of the Nanairo Planetary Patrol, I haven't seen you in a long time. It's nice to see you one last time… before I kill you," The figure said, stepping into the light to revealing it to be Jado, one of the High Krawl that Rallen had defeated years ago.

"JADO!" Rallen shouted, grabbing his broken Prizmod and attaching it to his wrist armour, aiming it at Jado. It opened, but nothing happened. Jado laughed, taunting Rallen. Rallen, now angry, caught sight of a strange object coming from Jado's side, and lunged for it, but Jado was too quick, dodging away.

"Well, Rallen, I'll leave you to figure out your problems. Right now, I'm on my way over to your head office. It looks like Commander Grant and your little girlfriend here haven't got much longer to live. Good Bye." Jado faded into the darkness, vanishing completely out of sight.

"Rallen!" Aldous shouted, running over, and turning Rallen over to find him smiling. Asking Rallen why he was so happy, he gasped as Rallen produced the object he'd seen on Jado: a strange looking belt with a hexagonal hole in the middle, shaped kind of like a Prizmod. "Rallen, do you think…?" Aldous asked, before Rallen got up and slapped the belt on. He then donned the remainder of his armour and dashed out the door, heading for the NPP Headquarters.

His expression became, to a great extent, more evil, almost murderous. As he grinned, his eyes began to gain a deep red tint, and he said, "Don't worry Jeena. I'm coming for you."

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About fifteen minutes later, Rallen arrived at the NPP headquarters and turned on his comslink.

"Can anyone hear me? This is Rallen of the NPP! Anyone, COME IN!" He shouted, getting barely anything but static. Suddenly, the face of an elderly man came on screen, and Rallen snapped to attention.

"RALLEN, IS THAT YOU? THANK GOD YOU'RE HERE! THE KRAWL ARE ATTACKING, AND THEY HAVE JEENA!" the man said.

"Commander Grant! At least someone answered me. I already know about the Krawl attacking, I just need a damage report, and I'll take care of things," Rallen said, his eyes temporarily returning to normal.

"They've destroyed almost everything. The only room they haven't reached yet is the central office, and that's where I am right now. Hurry, I hear footsteps!" Grant said, just as the transmission was cut off. Seconds later, the hologram turned on again, this time with Jado on screen.

"Hello, Rallen," Jado said, Smiling a darkened, shadowy smile, "As you can see, the entire NPP headquarters has been taken over by the Krawl, and ME! Now, if you want your commander and your girlfriend back, come to the Central Office on the second floor. And COME ALONE. I'll keep all my Krawl Sentries out of your path so you can get here in one piece. I want one final battle before I destroy you, your friends, and your home world! Oh, and you have five minutes. Hurry, Clock's ticking!" Jado laughed hysterically at the last part as he closed the call, leaving Rallen to absorb what he'd just heard.

"So, Jado," Rallen said to himself, his eyes going black, "You think you can toy with me?" He snarled angrily as he swung his Prizmod-free arm into the wall, putting a large bruise on his arm and a large hole through the wall.

"WELL YOU'RE WRONG!" he shouted, roaring in fury as he dashed forward. He knew his weapons wouldn't have much effect on the larger Krawl sitting around the place, but he also knew that the smaller Dust Forms of the Krawl around him weren't as immune. Slashing and blasting his way through as many as he could, he reached the elevator and entered to find a large plasmatic shadow standing within.

"WHAT?" Rallen said as the shadow nailed him on the head, knocking him out.

~SOON…~

Rallen awoke to a pounding head. "Ungh…" he groaned, sitting up to find himself on the Commander's desk.

"Huh-WHAT? How'd I get here?" Rallen said out loud as a sinister chuckle met his ears. Turning to find the noise, he saw a silhouette next to the door. One flash of light told Rallen all he needed to know.

"JADO!" Rallen shouted, while jumping off the desk as Jado stepped forward, laughing heartily.

"YES, Rallen. It's good to see you made it! After that little episode downstairs, I didn't think you'd come, so I sent Shadow to retrieve you. I didn't tell him to knock you out though…" Jado said as Rallen ran forward and punched him, sending Jado through a wall as Rallen's eyes began to turn black once again.

"I don't give a care about any of that, Jado," Rallen said, his body now seemingly more buff, "First you steal Jeena. Then you come and take the Commander hostage! If you've harmed either of them, I'll punch your clock a thousand times for each!"

He pulled out the strange belt from earlier and placed it around his waist. Then, holding a hand out, he yelled, "BELT, GO!" Nothing happened, and Rallen stared at it in confusion as Jado got up and hit him with a whip-like shadow punch from the hole he'd been in, knocking Rallen from his feet.

"AH! So that's where my belt went. I'll thank you to… nah, you know what? You keep that. You can clutch it tight as I send you to the afterlife, where your soul will be transmogrified into a Krawl. Then you'll be reborn as my servant!" Jado jeered, walking forward while pummelling Rallen from afar. Each hit shook the floor with enough force to level a continent, and soon enough woke Jeena from her unconscious sleep.

"Huh… Where am I? Wait, where's… RALLEN?" She shouted, seeing Rallen getting beaten to bits by a maniacally laughing Jado. Jado threw one last punch, knocking Rallen out, and then turned to Jeena.

"Guess what? Your boyfriend wasn't tough enough to take me, so I'll be taking you now, ok?" Jado said mischievously, grabbing Jeena's waist.

"No… DON'T TOUCH ME! RALLEN! RALLEN, HELP ME PLEASE!" she screamed, only getting Jado's insane laughter as a reply.

~WITHIN RALLEN'S MIND…~

Rallen's body floated in what seemed to be the expanse of space.

"Huh?" he said dumbly, staring around blankly at the empty lack of landscape around him.

"_Hey, Master, You miss us?"_ Came a strange voice from nowhere, and as Rallen turned in place, he saw the first three Spectrobes he had ever evolved coming his way. They had been his favourite, as well as the forerunners of his team when ever he went into battle: a yellow Komadoros, an ice-blue Spikanor, and a purple/red Naguzoro.

"Guys! Where've you been?" Rallen asked, as he hadn't been able to take his best friends for a walk, or even FEED them in ages due to all his work. Suddenly, each Spectrobe began to morph, gaining more humanoid appearances. Soon, each creature looked exactly like him, but with tribal-style seal markings on their bodies. Komaki spoke first.

"_Master, what's happened to you? You used to be so full of energy, always wanting our help for beating the Krawl. Now look at you. Near death, on the ground, bleeding profusely. You've fallen far in these last four years, Master,"_ Komaki said in a tone of regal authority. Spikao stepped forward, pushed Komaki out of his way, and proceeded to talk.

"_Dude, what the hell, man? How could you fail this horribly? You were riding the waves of life, all the way at the top of the biggest wave! Then, without warning, you crashed, burned, and didn't get back up! And why'd you get so mad about Jeena's question earlier? You know she didn't mean it!"_ Spikao shouted, shaking his head and clenching his spiked, claw-like fists while his large spiked tail continued to smack he ground repeatedly of its own accord. Stepping forth, Naguro, the seemingly more mature of the three, moved between the other two and maintained an air of utter calm as he spoke.

"_Boss, I don't know what happened to you, nor do I want to know. But right now, Jeena is getting attacked because you refuse to get up. You need our help on this one, as much as you've continually refused to say throughout these last few years. Your enemy, Jado, doesn't know the extent of our knowledge, and therefore doesn't know the special abilities this belt will bestow upon one wielding the power of a Prizmod. If you wish to have us help you, all you need to do is stand up. We'll do the rest. Just give us your hand, boss, and we'll take care of this,"_ Naguro said calmly, joining the other two in extending a humanoid hand toward Rallen. Rallen stared through a hole that had just opened next to him, and saw Jado attempting to force himself on Jeena. He could see Jeena struggling and crying, but he couldn't hear just how terrified she really was.

"JEENA!" he shouted, then, turning to his Spectrobe friends, continued, "You don't need to show me anymore. I'm going in. Guys, i need you right now. PLEASE LEND ME YOUR STRENGTH!" he shouted, grabbing their hands. Smiling, they nodded and pulled him forward.

~BACK OUTSIDE…~

"RALLEN! PLEASE HELP ME! PLEASE!" Jeena screamed as Jado lined himself up with her exposed body, and then screamed as he went in for the opening act. However, it never came, and, as she opened her eyes, she could see the same horrifying miracle as Jado: Rallen, despite massive, debilitating injuries, was finding the strength to stand tall and proud. However, something didn't seem right. Jado, sensing this, dropped Jeena, and chuckled.

"So, you managed to survive me, did you? Well, you won't survive this next hit!" He shouted, throwing one final punch at Rallen's body that never connected. Jado screamed in pain as Rallen, whose hand now had the head of Jado's shadow minion in a tight death grip, crushed the shadow's head, killing it. Jeena gasped, then remembered her current situation and ducked behind the desk, looking for something to cover herself with.

Meanwhile, Jado stood. His pain was now irrelevant. He'd lost his Shadow partner, and was down to half power.

"Curse you, Rallen! I'll crush you for that!" He shouted, throwing back his previously tightly closed cloak to reveal a belt similar to Rallen's. However, Rallen didn't even blink as Jado summoned up every Krawl in the area and used their essence to form a small, darkened crystal. "ENGAGE!" He shouted, and the belt announced, "Engaged. Enter user name and/or attack code."

Jado shouted, "JADO, HIGH KRAWL OF ICE! ATTACK CODE FROST!" the belt beeped several times and flashed, announcing, "ACCEPTED. WELCOME USER JADO."

"KURO HENSHIN!" Jado shouted as the Krawl energy within the crystal spewed forth, covering his body in hard, metallic armour, coloured dark blue and black, which connected to every part of his body.

"KAMEN RIDER SHADOW FROST," the belt announced as the Indigo-tinted eye lenses flashed, coupling with a small Red light near the top of the now formed helmet, and Jado said, "YES! MY POWER HAS RETURNED! I FEEL REBORN!" Rallen stood there, staring blankly at Jado's new form. However, after a few seconds, he smiled. Moving the arm that had his Prizmod on it toward the belt, and then, in a strange voice, said, "You know what, Jado? I can do that too. ENGAGE." The Prizmod flew off Rallen's arm and landed vertically in the empty buckle of the belt, and Rallen smiled again. Jado looked at Rallen's eyes, and saw them shift colors: one third of each pupil had turned yellow, another third had turned ice-blue, and the last third turned a shade of magenta.

As Jado stood there, stumbling back slightly, Rallen's Prizmod, still broken, opened, and a voice arose, saying, "ENGAGED. STATE NAME AND/OR ATTACK CODE PLEASE."

"Name: Rallen, Spectrobe master and Nanairo Planetary Patrol officer. Enter Code: Koma-Spika-Nagu." The belt flashed, and soon, three Spectrobe badges appeared, revolving around Rallen.

"REGISTERED AND READY. WELCOME USER RALLEN," The belt said, as the three badges fused together and shot back into the Prizmod, which closed.

"HENSHIN," Rallen said, and the newly made badge forced its way out of Rallen's body, slamming back onto him again as it returned. It shattered, refusing into a suit of armour similar to Jado's. However, along with the armour, three Spectrobes shot from with in and fused into the armour as well: Komadoros, fusing with the legs and beefing up the muscles of Rallen's legs; Spikanor, Fusing with Rallen's arms and back, forming large clawed hands and a large spiked tail while simultaneously increasing his arm muscles; Naguzoro, fusing with Rallen's Chest to beef up his torso muscles and add the visage of a large, fanged mouth to the chest armour. Suddenly, the armoured masks of each Spectrobe combined and began to spin wildly in mid air, before descending on Rallen's head and forming the lenses: Two large swirling vortexes of pure energy.

The belt flashed in time with the brown lenses and green light on the helmet, before announcing, "KAMEN RIDER NOVA: EVOLVED FORM." Jado and Rallen stared each other down long enough for Jeena, now wearing a spare set of battle armour similar to Rallen's regulation Officer uniform, to appear from the other side of the desk and stare in shocked astonishment as the two metal humanoids dashed at each other, one with a fist frozen of dark shadows, and the other with a fist raging with the power of light, throwing their individual punches.

* * *

Jeena watched in shock as the two armoured titans exchanged furious blows, each attack on a level stronger than the one before. Rallen, however, could tell that Jado was slowing down. Jado's last few attacks seemed to have been lacking, and were slow enough that Rallen had been able to counter them easily.

"ATTACH PART: NAGUZORO: NAGUCUBE!" Rallen shouted. Almost instantly, the Prizmod opened, and the mouth on his chest was replaced with what appeared to be a small plate of spikes. Jado attempted to kick Rallen, only to find his foot locked in the new chest attachment, which had extended into a bed of spikes. Screaming in pain, Jado backed away to find a small pool of dark blue blood under his injured foot.

"CURSE YOU RALLEN!" Jado screamed, tapping the crystal on his belt twice. Rallen, sensing a rise in power, tapped his Prizmod twice as well. As Jado backed up to the wall and propelled himself off it with a kick, Rallen back-flipped two feet from his original spot, and then leapt into the air. Just as Jado threw a twisting side-kick to Rallen's head, Rallen out-witted his foe with a combo attack No-one had thought him capable of thinking of.

In one motion, Rallen announced "ACTIVATE: GUARD LASHER", transforming the spiked tail lashing around behind him into a spiked foot guard that latched itself to his left leg. He tapped the Prizmod once more and over-charged his light energy into the guard.

"MAXIMUM POWER: FROST SMASH!"

"POWER OVERCHARGED: FALLEN DEVASTATION!"

Commander Grant woke up just as both fighters announced their attacks, and, as both warriors unleashed their final attacks, he edged next to Jeena to watch. He didn't know what was happening, but he wanted to know who had trashed his office this badly.

Unfortunately for Jado, his attack was overpowered by Rallen's and Jado was sent crashing into the wall behind him. As Rallen stood, the Guard Lasher reforming into the spiked tail, Jado stood, albeit shakily and reverted his normal body, though with far more injuries. Rallen looked at Jado, who immediately got up on his feet and vanished. As Rallen watched the wall where Jado had been, the room was filled with Jado's voice:

"You think you've won, Patroller? Not even close! I'm not finished with you yet! I may have had to separate myself from my shadow when Master Krux destroyed me before, but I managed to come back anyway! I'm going to fix you next time we meet, Patroller!" A high-pitched, insane laugh filled the room as Rallen reached for the Prizmod and twisted it off the belt, returning it to its place on his wrist. As the form dissipated, Rallen got tackled by a crying Jeena.

"RALLEN, YOU BATSARD!" Jeena cried, burying her face in Rallen's shoulder. Rallen wrapped his arms around her in comfort as Commander Grant stood, watching the two with a smile. He knew he should let them have their moment before he stepped up.

A few minutes later, after Rallen had contacted Aldous to come pick up Jeena, the Commander said, "Well, Rallen, I'd been keeping the Rift Rider Systems a secret from everyone but the Science department for the past couple years, but I was apparently quite wrong to do that. I was fascinated by your handling and mastery of the system in so short a time. As such, after yours and Jeena's promotion ceremony, I'll fill you in on the details of the-"

Rallen stopped the commander short by saying, "Actually, Commander, not to sound rude, but since I JUST beat Jado for the FOURTH time, I think you should properly explain what exactly this technology is, AND how Jado came to possess it."

Grant stood still, wondering what had come over Rallen when he saw the whites of Rallen's eyes start turning black. Panicking, he said, "Alright, Rallen, no need to lose it. I'll explain everything; just let Jeena get some… less revealing clothes on before hand so she AND Aldous can hear it too. And so you aren't quite AS distracted by her body. I would suggest NOT looking if I were-" Grant was cut short once again as Jeena delivered a powerful iron punch that sent Rallen flying, screaming at him not to look at her. Grant shook his head, and could have sworn he saw a small nosebleed appear on Aldous' face moments later, JUST before he received the same treatment.

~LATER…~

With the team back together, Grant sat down in what remained of his ruined swivel chair. He'd have to get a new one made, and they didn't make them the way he wanted, unless you paid an arm and a leg. Grant looked from Rallen to Jeena to Aldous and then back to Rallen, and then closed his eyes, inhaling deeply.

"Alright, you three are our top team. Therefore, it's time you learned of the Rift Systems. About the time Rallen and Jeena fell into the portal to the Kaio System, I rushed into a project, spearheaded by the top brass in the Science Department, called the Rift Project. In this project, a set of devices were developed that could utilize the innate abilities and/or powers of whoever used the system, as an alternate means of beating the Krawl. Seeing as we still had a few Krawl in the training room, we tested our new technology, and surprisingly it worked better than we'd dreamed! No matter what kind of Krawl came at our tester, it was effortlessly destroyed."

"However, the technology was slightly flawed, in that it would allow ONLY those who'd registered themselves with the individual system. After you got back and all the Krawl disappeared, it appeared as though we no longer needed them, so I had them placed in storage. But, several months ago, I'd gotten a report that they'd been stolen from the top secret storage vault; the vault that ONLY I and the top brass of each department know the location of. Because of this, I have been sending large squadrons to find and retrieve them," Grant finished, and Rallen nodded. That certainly explained the recent officer shortages.

"But Commander," Jeena piped up, "If Jado had two of them, wouldn't it stand to reason that the Krawl are already in possession of the devices? You sending men out to collect them would be suicide! You're practically sending these poor officers to their deaths!"

"Don't you think I figured that out, Officer Jeena?" Grant snapped, the strain of the situation now becoming too much to bear. For the duration of the discussion, Rallen stood perfectly still, quiet as a mouse. While everyone else discussed the possible effect of leaving the Rift systems with the Krawl, Rallen took in information and shared it with his spectrobes for ideas. After the folderol had ended, Rallen finally spoke up.

"Well, Commander, as it stands," Rallen said, his usually upbeat expression now replaced with a far more serious one, "I assume our next mission is to hunt down and reclaim the remaining systems, in effect succeeding, above all odds, where every other team has failed in the past, simply because we're the best shot you have?" Rallen opened a single eye, looking at Commander Grant solemnly, while Jeena and Aldous stared at Rallen in disbelief. Rallen, throughout their many adventures, had never ONCE caught on to the Commander's plan of action before anyone else… he usually needed someone else to explain it to him.

Grant nodded quietly, then said, "As you yourself have put it Rallen, You, Jeena, and Aldous are our best team. The three of you have accomplished inside of a one week time-span what it would take most teams of AT LEAST fifteen men to complete inside of a month. That's an accomplishment. Now, as it stands, YOU THREE are also the ONLY team who have ANY experience fighting the Krawl, AND, in addition, yours are the ONLY effective weapons the Krawl. You've taken down ONE of the High Krawl three times, another twice, and the other two once each. You've also destroyed two Xelles, AND defeated Krux TWICE."

"You are the only team effective enough to take down Krux' forces time and time again, while taking the LEAST calamitous damage. Sure, you've lost us a cruiser over in the Krawlosphere in Kaio, but that was easily replaced. You three are OUR BEST CHANCE of beating Krux once and for all, And I KNOW you three can do it!" Grant finished his speech by lowering his eyes to the floor and saying, "I wish there was more I could do on my own… but, as it stands, all I can do is ask you three to do what you always do. So, the order is thus: Get out there, and do what you're good at doing! Crush the Krawl and destroy Krux, should you run into him! UNDERSTOOD?" His booming voice was responded to with three salutes and shouts of "YES SIR!"

As Rallen and company left the room, Grant surveyed the area, and shook his head as a large chunk of the ceiling fell to the floor. "Damn it all to hell… Why'd it have to be on Christmas, Krux? Why'd you have to do this on Christmas?

~DAYS LATER…~

Rallen and Jeena stood on the center platform of the N.P.P. auditorium, waiting for Grant to award them their promotions. As Grant walked up, he slowly produced a small box.

"Attention, officers Rallen and Jeena!" Grant bellowed from two feet away, and, as he watched both snap to attention, continued, more softly, "For your continued decimation of the Krawl race over these past years, I hereby award you with Nanairo's highest honour, the Cosmic Arms, and bestow upon you both the honour of Interstellar Heroism! You are now to be regarded as heroes across the galaxy. You are also hereby promoted to Field Commanders, and are allowed to use whatever means necessary to accomplish your missions form here on. The only orders you two will ever receive form now on are thus: COME BACK ALIVE!"

Grant opened the box and removed from it two large, star-shaped medals depicting a planet with two gold star cruisers flying around them in opposing directions, laser cannons firing at a third silver ship, the enemy. He attached the two medals to their welcoming bearers, who beamed proudly as the weighty lumps of metal were pinned to their collars.

Rallen, however, surprised everyone when he stepped up to the microphone and gave a speech, something no one, not even the Commander, had EVER seen or heard him do.

"Ladies and gentlemen of N.P.P.," Rallen began, "It has been a great pleasure to serve with the lot of you. However, I will say this: We are heading back down the path of darkness. There is only one path to take: We have to get back on the path of aggression and beat the Krawl once and for all!" As Rallen took a breath, the room lit up in loud cheering, and he continued, "The time has come to find a genetic weakness in the Krawl that allows our weapons to beat them! The more men we can have out there, the better off we'll be in the final battle! If we can get several squadrons of us out there with weapons effective against the Krawl, we can beat Krux, AND the High Krawl, and finally rid ourselves of this problem for the last time!" As Rallen stepped from the podium, the entire room exploded in cheering. Jeena couldn't believe what had happened, but understood what he was saying. They had a LONG road ahead of them, and she intended to help as much as she could. However, it wouldn't be an easy road. She worried silently about what dangers would befall them in the future…

* * *

Play ED: "STEP you" - Ayumi Hamasaki

* * *

TO BE CONTINUED!

Teck: Hey all. Seeing as I've been writing longer and longer chapters recently, I decided to condense the first three chapters into one and change the name. Hope it's all fine for you guys! ^_^


	2. EP2: OLD FACES: A SUDDEN FALL?

Alright, after a rather lengthy leave from this one, I'm back with chapter 4. Having all but lost the original plan for how this ends, most of this story, from now on, will either be totally random, or will have had a fair amount of planning done before hand. Let's hoping I can plan this out a bit, eh? ^_^ CHAPTER FOUR, AWAY! HYAZUU!

EP4: OLD FACES: A SUDDEN FALL?

Play OP: "YA-YA-YA" – AAA

Three days after the ceremony, Rallen, Jeena, Aldous, and Komainu set off on the cruiser. Rallen had been given the Rift System permanently, as it would no longer work for anyone else. Rallen had requested information about how to reset the system, but Grant refused him the information, claiming it to be "classified until an appropriate time". Rallen knew better than to press further and had left, Komainu riding happily on his shoulder, and had made a quick stop at the Nanairo Central Terrace for a quick mineral and fossil collection trip. Komainu had been more than eager to collect everything, putting a smile on Rallen's face; he loved the look of joy on Komainu's face when he found something in the ground, regardless of what it was. To him, it was one more way for him to remember that peace could exist in the world. All they needed was hope.

As he had waited patiently for Komainu to complete his task, Rallen looked around. The scenery was little more than breathtaking; from the edge of the terrace, he could see the dark shadows of Korinan stretching father than normal. A strange sight it was, considering that no one had permission to build out there anymore, so there shouldn't be tall buildings to cast such large shadows. The thought bothered Rallen, but he shrugged it off as he turned slowly to the right, seeing the sprawling pastures of the Makizu Farmlands and smiling. Even from here, he could barely make out figures that could only have been the farmers tending their fields. A second of deep contemplation was interrupted when he felt a tug at his leg.

There sat Komainu, a large collection of variously shaped and coloured minerals in his tiny paws while several different fossils sat before him. He had beamed at Rallen, who had smiled back, proud of his loyal friend. Komainu gave a playful roar that showed his colours: small in size, but string in will and spirit, and fiercely loving and loyal to his master.

"Hey little buddy, you found a lot today, didn't you?" Rallen had asked in a voice that sounded like a young mother praising her child. Rallen had taken the items and placed them in his backpack, then scooped up Komainu and pressed their noses together. Komainu smiled and barked happily, and Rallen placed the small red Spectrobe on his shoulder again. The two had gone back through the Hangar's back entrance, and then got on board. Despite the unpleasantness of the last few days, as soon as Jeena and Aldous saw the smiling faces of their two missing shipmates, their faces beamed. Jeena started the countdown, and Rallen took the helm. Seconds later, they took off on their next patrol.

Two more days passed without incident. Rallen had sat at the ship's helm, thinking about the larger then normal shadows he'd seen at Korinan days earlier; the sight had been eating at him since. No matter what they did, none of his shipmates could stir him from his thoughts. Nothing seemed wrong though, as Rallen would occasionally get up and help with minor maintenance mid-thought. Komainu spent his time chasing several of the other Child Form Spectrobes around the ship in games of tag: amongst them, Shakor and Leo were the most effective, given that Shakor was basically a flying fish dagger and Leo was a tiny lion with strong legs.

However, on New Year's Eve, a distress signal came in from Planet Nessa. Rallen eased the patrol cruiser toward the all but desolate desert planet, and landed in a clearing deep in the desert. He stepped out, making sure to put on a face mask; the raging, blowing sands of Nessa's desert were known not only for disorienting anyone unfortunate enough to wander in too far, but also for ... killing people. Over the years that Rallen had been a patrolman, he'd heard more stories of civilians wandering into the desert and coming back out dead in a body bag. He also put on polarized goggles to keep his eyes free of sand, and did the same for each of his child-form Spectrobes. Jeena and Aldous soon emerged, sporting their own masks and goggles, and the ragtag team set off.

After what felt like a few hours, the group found a small gate leading into Nessa's mining colony. Surprisingly... it was open. Rallen looked at his team mates and signalled for each of them to take a side of the gate. When both were in position, Rallen prepped his wrist-mounted blaster and charged in military style, checking his surroundings. Several quick, cursory glances told him that he was in a now abandoned colony. He quickly signalled for the others to join him, and kept walking, making an effort to check every structure within. He soon realized, looking behind him, that not only had they entered the colony through the rear gate, but that they were not alone.

"OH THANK YOU!" rang the voice of a young woman. The one owning the voice bounded up and threw her arms around Rallen's neck, effectively tackling him to the ground. Once Jeena and Aldous managed to pry the young woman off of Rallen, the trio took a long look at the girl: a perfect hourglass figure, with curves in ALL the right places, combined with long, waist-length purple hair with pink streaks, full, luscious lips, begging green eyes, a pair of over-stacked breasts, and long legs made her quite the looker. This, however, was a fact for which Jeena was most unappreciative, as she soon had to slap Rallen across the head to stop him from drooling all over the girl. Aldous, despite his younger partners' antics, noticed something oddly familiar about this girl: a pair of jagged, triangular marks under her sea green eyes that seemed to resemble eyeglasses that stretched across the back of her head, down around her nose, and down to frame her mouth. Where had he seen marks like those before?

After a short chewing out for assaulting an officer, the group found out that the girl's name was Tamara, and she'd been brought to the colony as part of a field trip from NPP's Cadet Academy. Rallen and Jeena nodded; Aldous, however, was getting more suspicious by the second. Something about this girl was screaming at him to run or fight. That feeling worried him. He shouldn't be getting a vibe like that off of just ANY person...

"Could you all excuse me for a minute? I need to go make a quick call to Dave from Kollin's weapon shop..." Aldous said, walking over to a lone building far from the others. He turned on his communicator and tapped into Commander Grant's private frequency.

"Hello, Aldous, This is Grant. What's the problem?" Grant asked, sounding somewhat frazzled. Aldous was more worried.

"Sir, could you run a check of the Cadet Academy's activities over the past week, as well as for a cadet by the name of Tamara?" Aldous asked. Seconds later he was dropped from the connection. Minutes later, Grant came back on and cleared his throat.

"Alright, Aldous, here's the info you wanted. The academy has had several field trips planned for this week: a trip to Ziba to watch the moons in orbit with Professor Kate; a trip to the Lava Fields on Daichi; a visit to the Museum here on Kollin, and to cap it off, a trip through one of the portals in armed cruisers to the Fubuki System to examine the Ice Plains on Plant Hyoga. And as for a cadet by that name, we have three: Last names are Guillez, Sunson, and Kyora. Why?"

Aldous explained their current situation, and told him how the girl they'd found there was giving him a bad vibe. Grant grunted in agreement, told Aldous to make sure they ALL kept their guard up, and gave him dual privilege to punish Rallen should he act up in any way. Aldous chuckled and thanked the Commander, then switched off his communicator and returned to the trio. Rallen was still ogling Tamara's body, while Jeena continued to steam and Komainu tugged at Rallen's leg for him to leave. Now Aldous KNEW something was off. Komainu wouldn't do that for just any person!

"Rallen, Jeena, could I speak to you two alone, please?" Aldous asked kindly, making sure the strange girl understood this had to be private. Once they were a safe distance away, Aldous took a deep breath and started.

"Alright, Rallen," he said, slapping the boy over the head to awaken him from his perverse trance before he continued, "Listen up. I just talked with Commander Grant about all this. There were field trips scheduled by the Academy this week, but none of them were set for THIS location! Not only that," he said, taking a quick look to make sure their friend was where they left her before continuing, "The Commander said there were THREE girls in the Academy with the name Tamara. We have to be VERY careful with this one... If she gives us a name that isn't on the list the Commander gave me, she's lying, and we should get out of here."

Rallen laughed, and then said, "Aldous, you worry too much. There's no way anyone as pretty as she is could possibly be dangerous!" Rallen said, before being ploughed HARD in the face by Aldous' fist.

"Rallen, what did I tell you when you first started your journey as a Spectrobe master? A master ALWAYS keeps on alert, and watches EVERYTHING around them, especially their Spectrobes. Komainu was pulling at the hem of your pant leg, trying to get you to leave! Even your Spectrobe wants to get far away from her! THERE HAS TO BE A PROBLEM!" Aldous shouted, shutting up quickly enough to look back. Tamara stood where they'd left her, a confused look on her face. He turned back to Rallen, who now looked appalled with himself.

"How could I put a stranger over my work?" Rallen asked quietly, before nodding in thanks to Aldous for setting him straight. The trio walked back to the girl, and this time, everyone stayed on high alert, but made no show of it. Rallen went back to ogling Tamara, though he made sure Jeena knew to only "ACT" like she was smacking him hard. They invited her back to the cruiser to take her back to Kollin to get back with her class, and she accepted. Moments later, the four and Komainu, who knew what was going on, were back on board the ship. After what felt like only a few hours, Rallen set the ship down on a different planet: He'd purposefully gone through a portal to the Hakaba system, specifically the large, gouged out planet of Nox. Once there, Rallen asked everyone to go outside. Once outside, Tamara gave Rallen a weird look.

"I thought you said we were heading to Kollin? Why are we here on this collapsing rock? We're nowhere near Kollin! I wanted to see the destruction Jado left in his wake!" Tamara pouted, before clamping both hands over her mouth. _'Yes,'_ Rallen thought, _'my plan is working.'_

"Really," Rallen began, "and how would you know that name? That name is only known to everyone between Commander Grant and all PATROLLERS and their partners. There's no way, dead or alive, that you'd be able to know that name as a CADET, TAMARA. So," he said, delivering a sharp slap to the girl's face, "Why don't you show us WHO, or WHAT, you really are? No, wait maybe I should take an educated guess. I SHOULD CALL YOU MAJA, SHOULDN'T I?"

The girl reeled from the force of the strike. However, when she looked back at them, her green eyes had been replaced by evil, purple orbs.

"HOW IN HELL DID YOU SEE THROUGH MY DISGUISE?" Tamara shouted; soon, as a typhoon of purple energy engulfed her, an eerily wicked laugh sounded out. The front of the energy storm became transparent, revealing what was happening within: Tamara's body, now a silhouette devoid of clothing, was spinning around, two large spikes of hair coming from the back of her head as her skin seemed to change color. The purple marks on her face stretched and contorted, soon becoming a twisted set of lines that spanned the length of her body. When the storm died out, there stood Maja, the only female High Krawl. However, something seemed genuinely different about her. For one, her skin now bore only a slight purple tinge, as opposed to her original all-purple skin colour; her purple hair, now slightly shorter than it had been previously, had slight tinges of different colors in seemingly random places; her cloak, which once reached down to the floor and only covered one leg entirely, was now no more than a hooded combination of a tank top and a mid-thigh-cut skirt. Something serious had happened with her... Had she gained more power, like Jado?

"Contrary to what you may be thinking, RALLEN," Maja said, every inch of Rallen's name spoken with a combination of breathy lust and total disdain, "I am actually NOT stronger. You should be able to figure out why." Maja's gaze turned away, and Rallen knew what she meant; the last time he'd defeated her had been her death, but in that, had been another added level of power for Jado, who had been taken out long before and had taken to devouring the corpses of the High Krawl Rallen defeated to resurrect himself.

"Let me guess... Jado eating you depleted some of your original powers?" Rallen said, and Maja nodded.

"Apparently, when he was defeated the final time, when our powers were released back to our old forms, our powers weren't enough to sustain us. We have to devour Krawl to gain our strength back. But, due to there being next to NONE left on ANY of the systems you've visited, our collective life spans have dropped drastically. I can only survive now by posing as a human... and living like one... I don't really WANT to fight you, Rallen. I don't have the strength to stand up to you. Not now, anyway..." Maja said, holding her shoulders tightly. Moments later, she began to sway in place, and then collapsed on her side, a look of pain on her face.

"What the heck?" Jenna said, before continuing, "I say we leave her here. She's caused enough damage." Jeena started to walk away when Rallen's hand grabbed her forearm in what was almost a vice grip, holding her in place. Rallen bent down next to Maja as Jeena turned, and he checked Maja's vitals.

"Holy Pegatinum... She wasn't lying! Her pulse is dangerously low, she's barely breathing... We've got to get her on life support!" Rallen shouted, dropping his grip on Jeena's arm to scoop Maja up in his arms and run back for the cruiser.

"Rallen, what are you thinking? Aldous shouted, grabbing the boys shoulder and spinning him in place, only to be met with a serious look that he didn't think Rallen was capable of. Rallen took a deep breath, and then ranted:

"What am I doing? I'm saving a life, like I was trained to! First rule of being a Patroller: Make it a point to save as many lives as possible. First rule of being a Commander: Make it a custom to bring in a suspect or guilty party ALIVE. So, what do you do when an old enemy shows up, wanting nothing more to do with being evil, and suddenly collapses from what could ONLY be malnutrition and anaemia? Assuming that is that High Krawl have blood... I was trained to save as many lives as I can, and now you want me to turn my back on my duties and principles? Not on either of your lives. We'll work something out with Maja that will benefit all of us. Now, quit arguing with me on this; I've got a life to save, and by my status, I'm going to save it!"

Rallen broke free of Aldous' grip and darted off to the ship, giving his mask to Maja to keep her from being killed by a sand-filled throat. When he made it back, he went straight to the cruiser's lab level, got a bed ready, and placed Maja on it, then set about looking for a life-support system. HE quickly found one in the storage room, along with a "how to" manual, and started hooking Maja up to it just as his shipmates arrived. They stood in the doorway, shocked and amazed, watching Rallen as he carefully connected everything properly and made sure not to injure the living evil on the bed below. When he finally had everything together, he plugged it in. Moments later, a slow whirring sound filled the room, followed by the respirator's whooshing sounds, and soon, the entire lab echoed with the sounds of medical technology at work. Rallen took a seat next to the bed and sat down, watching and waiting for Maja to wake up.

Jeena and Aldous went up to the bridge, and Jeena slowly eased the craft into the air. Soon, the cruiser was headed back through the portal to their home system of Nanairo. Rallen never once left his seat during the trip. Once they landed, he sent out a request for a stretcher, and when it came, he lifted Maja off the bed and placed her onto the wheeled cot. He personally made sure she reached the infirmary, and, once there, helped get Maja all rigged up into another machine, then sat down and waited for her to awaken.

Jeena and Aldous stood outside the room, contemplating what to do when Grant stormed past them and into the infirmary, a firestorm raging in his eyes.

"RALLEN, WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS? WHY DID YOU BRING SUCH A DANGEROUS CREATURE INTO OUR HEADQUARTERS? HAVE YOU ALREADY FOGOTTEN ABOUT THE DESTRUCTION JADO CAUSED MERE DAYS AGO?" Grant shouted, only to be met by the stare of Rallen's now blackening eyes.

"Sir, I will only ask you once. Sit down and talk quietly, or I'll be forced to remove you from the room. This room is for the sick to heal and recover, not get sicker," Rallen said, his red pupils beginning to form, but vanishing along with the blacks in his eyes when the Commander cleared his throat and sat down next to him. A few silent minutes passed, before Grant decided to speak up.

"So Rallen, please explain to me why you brought one of the High Krawl to NPP Headquarters? Did you forget that we just recently had Jado walk in and nearly destroy the entire place? We're still trying to pick up the pieces here!" Grant said with a stern look plastered on his face.

Rallen took a deep breath, then said, "Sir, do you remember what you told us cadets the first day of official training? Do you remember stating that, above all else, saving lives should be our number-one priority?" Grant nodded, and then asked how this was relevant.

"It's relevant," Rallen said, "Because Maja is sick. She came to us in a human disguise in the Nessa mining colony site, and ... actually hugged me. When we took her to Nox and called her out, she became... what you see here," Rallen pointed toward the bed, "and said that due to Jado devouring her body when I beat her last time, that most of her powers were siphoned away. The only way she was able to return was because, when Krux destroyed Jado the second time, her powers were stripped from him and sent into a temporary body. One she could only maintain by either devouring Krawl or by living as a human. Human life isn't working for her. She's dying again, and this time, it's not by something I had to do to stop her. She even said she doesn't want to fight me anymore. She just wants to exist on her own in peace. I didn't even have to attack her... she just passed out in front of me. Aldous and Jeena thought I was crazy for doing this... Why don't they understand that I'm fulfilling my duties?"

Grant gave Rallen a stern look that seemed to last forever. The two officers sat there, staring each other down. Finally, amidst the chaos that had begun to ensue, Grant stood and issued orders for the Krawl woman to be closely monitored and for Rallen to be the first one notified of any positive progress. The doctors nodded and Grant led Rallen outside. Once there, he gathered the three friends together and looked at each.

"Alright, I have to tell you all something important. Rallen, from now on, you are only allowed to bring suspects in for treatment IF you call me and issue a formal request first. We can't risk Maja going berserk when she wakes," Grant said, just as Rallen raised a hand to silence him.

"In that case, sir," Rallen said, "Why don't we do this a different way? Jeena and Aldous stay on the ship to keep their ears open for more distress signals. Meanwhile, until Maja is better, I stay in the chair next to her and wait. When she wakes up, we look to get her better fast. Then, we get her a uniform and she stays on the cruiser with us. She sticks around and helps if she can, and at the first sign of trouble, we lock her in the brig. With her powers weakened, she shouldn't be able to break free on her own. Once we've found the other High Krawl, we either defeat and destroy them, or allow Maja to talk them onto our side while our scientists try to find a way to make them human. Sound alright?" Grant thought it through. Jeena and Aldous tried to persuade him to throw the Krawl woman out on her face, but Grant stayed quiet and stoic through it all.

Finally, Grant cleared his throat and said, "Alright Rallen, I approve of your plan." Jeena and Aldous almost exploded in protest, but Grant stopped them to explain his reasoning.

"The reason I'm allowing this is because, IF we can find a way to make them human, the same process can be performed on Krux, or maybe even on the Krawl themselves, to see if we can reverse the damage done to the other galaxies. Rallen, if your plan works, you could be the greatest hero this world, and every world you've ever been to, has ever known!" Rallen smiled. He'd never really wanted fame or fortune. The only thing that had ever mattered to him was performing his duty. He thought for a moment of all the people who'd be there when he came back from that final battle... All the pretty girls...

Grant winced as Jeena slammed Rallen on the head with a two-handed hammer punch straight to the back of the head, propelling the drooling boy straight into the floor, face-first. _'At least that floor wasn't fixed yet...'_ Grant thought, shaking his head as the two teenage friends argued loudly while Aldous tried to separate them. Soon, the three stopped what they were doing and Rallen walked back into the infirmary, sitting silently next to Maja's sleeping form. Jeena and Aldous walked back to the hangar quietly, thinking quietly about the recent events.

~DAYS LATER...~

It had only been about three days since Maja had been admitted, but Rallen was beginning to get anxious. He was going through what he called "Cruiser Withdrawal"; not having been at the cruiser's helm for three days was making him crazy, but he held it together. Finally, just after lunch on the third of January, Rallen watched stunned as Maja's eyes slowly fluttered open and landed on his. Her eyes seemed to carry a hint of worry and dread, but Rallen smiled.

"Don't worry, you're safe now. You collapsed on Nox from malnutrition and anaemia. Your vitals were dropping, so I hooked you up to life support on the cruiser and brought you back here to NPP's Infirmary for proper care. You're lucky your body is anatomically similar to that of a human being's because otherwise... you'd probably be dead," Rallen said, watching as Maja breathed a sigh of relief.

In a very weak voice, Maja said, "T-thank you, R-Rallen... I-I..." but was cut short when Rallen placed a finger over her lips to silence her.

"Don't strain yourself. Focus for now on getting your rest and recovering, and then we'll talk. Alright?" he asked, and, at a simple nod from Maja, smiled and nodded back.

A few weeks later, Maja was back on her feet, walking around and talking in full sentences. With everyone but Rallen, she spoke with a visible lack of real trust; Rallen, however, was treated with a breathy, sensuous voice whenever Maja spoke to him, coupled with smiled and fawning. Jeena couldn't understand why Maja had suddenly changed around Rallen so much, when everyone else was still getting the short end of the stick.

Rallen, of all people, failed to notice Maja's change in mood, mistaking it for gratitude. Over the time they spent in the infirmary, he did everything to make sure she recovered fully, and she made no play to take advantage of his help, instead vocally proclaiming herself to now be helping Rallen in any and every way possible in the fight against Krux. Rallen thanked her profusely for her aide. Finally, the day came when Maja, once again in her human disguise, was granted an NPP uniform and told to go with Rallen and his crew. She squealed in glee and tackle-hugged Rallen with a joyful smile, getting a startled smile from Rallen, but odd looks from everyone else. As Maja ran off to change, Jeena decided to voice her concerns.

"Rallen," she said, "Don't you think Maja's been acting a little weird? Ever since she found out that, in essence, you saved her life, she's been regarding you like a love interest, while the rest of us get cat claws and snarls. I think you need to have a word with her about this. If it gets too out of control, she might jeopardize future missions!" Jeena said, before being waved off by Rallen.

Rallen chuckled before saying, "You're worrying about this too much, Jeena. Just relax! I'll handle everything." When the doors to the hangar re-opened, Rallen's jaw dropped, and everyone saw why: Maja seemed to have combined both her High Krawl and Human forms, giving her one that seemed to literally defy the laws of human anatomy: the hour-glass figure from her human form was now grouped with an EXTREMELY large bust with curves and a face to kill for: long purple eyelashes and brows framed a pair of stunning electric-blue eyes, while multiple locks of French-braided purple/pink streaked hair fell around a pair of lusciously full red lips. The uniform seemed to hug every part of her, sending nearly EVERY male in the group falling back with an insanely powerful nosebleed. Grant and Aldous were the only two who didn't fall back, but they did stare. Aldous had to admit; she may still be evil, but damn she looked good!

"So, Ra-ll-en," Maja said, enunciating his name in her breathy voice as she walked over, straddled his chest and leaned in close to his face, "When do we ship out?"

Jeena couldn't hold back a sigh of embarrassment when Rallen's eyes bugged out, his mouth flew open, and his nose blasted more blood than before, propelling him out from underneath Maja and straight up the cruiser's waiting hatch. Aldous slapped his head; cleaning the blood trail would end up being MAJA'S first job aboard ship, because HE certainly wasn't going to do it. Jeena walked over and grabbed Maja by the back of her shirt collar and dragged her, walking backwards, up the hatch and into the cruiser, screaming that if she EVER did that again, Maja would be working to get herself out of the ship's hull... ALL ALONE. Aldous bowed to Grant and boarded, closing the hatch to avoid having any rabid fan-boys running up to have their way with Maja. Soon, the cruiser's engine roared to life, and the ship took off into space.

A couple weeks later, the smell of blood had all but left the cruiser, and Maja lay back in a chair on the bridge, wiping sweat off her brow. It had taken her this long using the high-tech floor scrubber to remove the blood trail form the ship's floor. She breathed heavily; she'd never expected that manual labour could be so... tiring. She felt herself moving, and, allowing herself to move forward in her chair, but JUST slightly, she slouched with her legs straight out and the back of one hand across her forehead. That was when she suddenly had a flash of pain in her head that made her shoot out of her chair and land on the floor with a scream. As her four shipmates ran to her, she began writhing, holding her head tightly as she screamed in almost garbled speech. Rallen watched in awe as the strange markings on her face began to change. Where they once resembled glasses, they now consisted of no more than a French twist that started below her nose and wrapped around her face. A few seconds later she seemed to settle down, and laid still. Rallen checked to be sure she was alright, and small, even breaths could be heard: she was sleeping. Rallen shook his head.

"She's kinda like a young mother and her baby, huh, Jeena?" He asked, and, at his partner's request for clarification, he continued, "She just endured a massive amount of pain, similar to a mother in labour. Now, she's sleeping soundly, like a baby usually does after it's in its mother's arms. She's almost more human than the rest of us... if not for her Krawl powers..." His voice trailed off as he reached down to pick her up in his arms. He walked back to the elevator and went to the rest area, laying Maja down on a small cot and covering her with a blanket to keep her warm. When he left the room quietly, Jeena was waiting for him.

"Rallen, why exactly do you care so much? She may have SAID she doesn't want to fight anymore, but we can't just assume she'll stay true to her word. She is still the enemy!"

Rallen shook his head and patted Jeena's shoulder as he walked back to the elevator, saying, "All part of the old saying, Jeena: Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer." He took the elevator back to the bridge, leaving Jeena to stand outside the door of the rest area to think about his words.

"This can't go on... She's not supposed to be here..." Jeena said in a horse whisper, "She's the enemy. She deserves no mercy. I've tried to keep up with Rallen's lack of reasoning... but it's too much now. I can't do it anymore. Rallen may not see it, but I do. She HAS TO GO!" Opening the door, Jeena slid in quietly and closed the door.

~ON THE BRIDGE...~

Rallen felt a sudden ominous tingle in his spine. He shivered, and his head whipped back the way he came.

"Don't tell me... JEENA!" He shouted, hurtling back into the elevator and down to the room like a bolt of lightning.

~MEANWHILE...~

Jeena walked slowly toward the bed, grabbing a small knife from the table by the door as she entered. Her eyes were clouded in darkness and her mouth curled back in an evil, murderous sneer as she reached the bed side, the knife in one hand. She didn't even move to wake her sleeping victim as she raised the knife to Maja's chest, lining it up with where she believed her heart was... "If she even has a heart," Jeena said to herself. She took the knife in both hands and lifted it, ready to pierce the Krawl woman's heart when...

"JEENA, STOP NOW!" Rallen shouted, throwing the door open. Jeena couldn't even hear Rallen's voice over the sounds of her own rampaging dark thoughts. She squeezed the knife's handle tight and brought it down hard. Rallen ran forward and shouted, the whole thing now moving to him in slow motion as he jumped to try and stop the knife.

"JEENA... Ah..."

"What's going on here? JEENA, WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE?"

"Huh...? Aldous? Where's... RALLEN!"

_ED: "STEP you" – Ayumi Hamasaki_

To BE CONTINUED

There we go. Chapter 4... Gah... I really should have thought this out a bit more. Ah well. What happens happens, right? For those who didn't get the "Four ship mates" line, i'm counting Komainu as a ship mate. ^_^ anyways, that's been chapter 4! R&R, CONSTRUCTIVE FLAMES are always welcome! HYAZUU!


	3. EP3: BED REST AND A DECLARATION!

Alright; it's been a few months, so I'm going to do my best here. Please bear with me! The NEW Chapter 3 online!

EP3: BED REST AND A DECLARATION!

Play OP: "YA-YA-YA" – AAA

"Uhn…"

"Look, he's waking up!"

'_Jeena…'_

"No thanks to you…"

'_Maja…? Maja?'_

"Shut up, Krawl bitch!"

'_Whoa, wait a minute…'_

"Cram it, Queen Jealous!"

'_Stop it… You're giving me a headache!'_

"Jealous?"

"Would the two of you please SHUT UP?" Rallen's voice seemed to fill the room, despite the fact that he wasn't even talking that loud. As Rallen opened his eyes, he saw three pairs of eyes on him. Aldous gave him a relieved look that told the boy his elder officer was happy to have him back.

Between Jeena and Maja, though, Rallen wasn't sure who to reach out to first. While Jeena shared a similar look with Aldous, hers was mixed with a combination of grief and anger. Meanwhile, Maja was looking at Rallen like he was dying; her eyes held a combined look of pain, deep concern, sadness … and love. Rallen decided he'd ask Jeena first, in case Maja jumped him and made the now searing pain in his chest worse.

"Ugh… Jeena, what's going on? Where are we?" he asked, struggling to sit up. Jeena looked away, a pained look taking over her face. After another inquiry, she turned and ran out the door. Rallen looked confused. Aldous decided to fill in.

"Rallen, you don't remember anything from… five days ago?" he asked. Rallen tried to remember, but drew a blank.

"No… all I remember is everything going dark real fast… What happened?" Rallen asked. Aldous drew a deep breath.

"Five days ago, Maja collapsed after cleaning the floor. She seemed to be in a lot of pain, so you moved her down here, to the infirmary, to rest. Moments later, after leaving, you doubled back at break-neck speed. I followed behind you as fast as I could, but… From what I could gather, Jeena tried to stab Maja to death, but you jumped in the way and took the hit for her. Jeena accidentally stabbed you in the shoulder once; she got you again as she pulled it out and went back in, this time catching your left side. You've been unconscious ever since," Aldous said. He nodded when Rallen gave him a stunned look, and turned to walk out.

Maja didn't move from her seat next to Rallen, and said, "Thank you, Rallen. You've saved my life twice now. I may have been your enemy at one time, but… I owe you now. Even if SHE won't, I'll stay right here and help you recover. Whatever you need, tell me. IF it's within acceptable bounds, I'll get it for you." She leaned down and gave him a small kiss on the cheek, then sat back up to give him a warm, caring smile. Rallen smiled back, but soon fell asleep again.

Maja reached a hand up to touch the lines on her face, tracing across the embossed edges of the lines delicately as she said, "I don't care anymore, Krux… you tossed me aside when all I wanted was to serve you… Now, it's my turn to do the same for you. Together with Rallen, I'll show you the equivalent of being thrown into a nuclear compactor!" Her hands balled into fists in her lap, clenching tighter until they loosed blood… real, honest, human blood.

Outside, Aldous was standing against the wall shaking his head.

"Looks like we were wrong to accuse her of working with Krux at this juncture… she's out for vengeance as a woman scorned…" he muttered to himself, soon scurrying off when he heard Maja shout, "I HEARD THAT, BEARD!"

~MEANWHILE…~

Jeena sat in the co-pilot's chair on the bridge with her head in her hands. Komainu had long since left the bridge to wait patiently outside of the infirmary for his master to come out. He had even tried to bite her when she last tried to pick him up, and gave her nothing but snarls and angry barking when she tried to approach him. As she raised her head to look out at the infinite starscape of space, she broke out in hard, silent sobs and buried her head in her hands again.

"W-w-wh-at h-have I be-be-come?" she asked herself through choked breaths. She was still struggling to grasp the gravity of what had happened. It had been five days, but the thought still came close to destroying everything she thought she knew about reality: In a desperate attempt to kill Maja, whom she thought was still evil, she's stabbed her childhood friend twice and hospitalized him.

That was what got her, time and again: SHE STABBED RALLEN. SHE DID. It hadn't been Aldous or Commander Grant, and not even MAJA, the one she'd tried to kill, that had done it. SHE HAD DONE IT. Her own emotions had caused her to injure the one closest to her. She felt sick and disgusted with herself. However, it wasn't until a moment later when her Cosmolink opened and released her first Spectrobe, Hananomi. However, unlike most of the other Hananomi, hers was special, a rarity for her species.

Instead of the orange bulb, four-leaf clover growth, and small grey spikes underneath, Jeena's Hananomi had a body coloured in a very regal shade of purple, with a four-leaf clover made of harmless poison ivy growing out of her head, while the spikes underneath were now rounded and soft to the touch, almost like a silk doily. Aldous had speculated that some species of Spectrobes functioned under hierarchy rule, with the ones seen as royalty not only having differences in body type and color, but also an entirely different Evolutionary line, often to a level that could rival an Ultimate Form Spectrobe.

For the moment, her analytical mind slowed to a halt, and Jeena embraced her small, plant-like friend, who sorrowfully embraced her back. Jeena cried and cried, her Hananomi seeming to smile as she helped her master overcome her pain. Hananomi felt it would take a while. In fact, Aldous soon found himself having to locate a safe place to hide from the two females on board.

About three hours later, Jeena loosened her grip on Hananomi and placed her hand on the small being's head, her thumb and index finger separated only by the stalk of Hananomi's poison ivy. She gently stroked her friend's head, smiling as Hananomi cooed happily. Her tears continued to fall, but she wasn't crying anymore. She sat in her chair, softly petting her friend and smiling sadly.

'_Is Rallen even going to make it? Maybe I hit a vital organ on the second stab… no, Rallen's had way worse than this and lived to tell about it…_ But… maybe, just to check, I should go check in on him… see how he's holding up," Jeena said, finishing her thought aloud. She stood up, smiled to Hananomi, and gave her friend a small kiss on the head. Hananomi seemed to grin and let out a happy cheer. The Cosmolink kicked into action again, sucking Hananomi back inside. Jeena nodded and set off for the infirmary, barely even noticing as Aldous sucked in his stomach and held his body against the wall in a weird pose to keep from being seen.

~MEANWHILE…~

Rallen woke up and opened his eyes to see Maja smiling at him.

"Wow… You must be really happy right now, Maja…" Rallen said. He closed his eyes again and smiled at her, but found himself caught off-guard by Maja's appearance when he opened his eyes again: Maja was slowly unzipping her uniform top, allowing more and more of her vast bust to spill out. By the time Rallen's mouth had slammed into his collarbone and his eyes popped out of his head, Maja had completely unzipped and removed her jacket. Rallen clamped his eyes shut. He had never seen this much of any woman before, and swore the only other times he'd ever let himself see this would be with Jeena.

"A-Alright, Maja… That's enough. Put your jacket back on, please!" Rallen said, visibly flustered and embarrassed. Maja simply chuckled and moved closer to the bed. Rallen opened his eyes again for less than a second, almost missing the smile on her face. Her smile was now getting… creepy. It was still a smile, but it held a certain degree of lustful yearning behind it that Rallen had never seen before… nor ever wanted to see again. She leaned in a little closer to the bed and grinned.

"But Rallen, my chest feels tight… I was hoping you could take a closer look and check for any… PROBLEMS," she said, breathing the last word. Rallen almost lost it. But, having been around Jeena all these years had tempered him to these sorts of things, at least to a degree.

"Maja… Please, get off of me. I'll yell for help if you don't return to your chair and put your jacket back on," Rallen said, adding a bit of force to his voice. Maja backed up for a moment, but returned in full force, her smile growing wider by the seconds.

"I LOVE being talked to like that… I've been a VERY bad girl, Rallen. I think you need to-GUH!" she blurted as a powerful fist barrelled into her face, sending her into the wall behind the bed. Rallen looked from Maja's twitching leg next to him, and then turned his gaze to Jeena. Moments later, he wished he hadn't, because the sight of her teary-eyed face made his stomach turn.

"Rallen… HOW COULD YOU? I thought we were…" Jeena managed to say before hitting the floor on her knees and bawling all over again. Rallen now felt like a major jerk. He hadn't even done anything, and yet he'd managed to hurt Jeena worse than she'd done him. He looked over to Maja, who was still inside the wall. He grabbed her ankle and pulled her out of the wall. When she looked up with confusion in her eyes to ask why, he gave her a look that plainly said, "You caused this. YOU FIX IT." She didn't need to hear him actually say it; she somehow instinctively knew that if she didn't fix what she'd done, Rallen himself would throw her into the airlock and expel her from the ship with the garbage.

Maja stepped toward Jeena and got on her knees, then bowed and said, "I'm very sorry, Commander Jeena. I'm the one at fault here. I tried to seduce Commander Rallen in his time of weakness and wasn't aware of your relationship… I'll back off. Punish me however you see fit." Jeena looked up through her tears and nodded. She went back to crying for a moment, and Maja knew what was coming. She closed her eyes tight and braced for impact.

Jeena, however, knew better. One more punch like the last one would cause Maja to put an irreparable hole in the cruiser's hull. And since they were all in space, they'd ALL die. Jeena may not have been entirely trusting of Maja at the moment, but didn't feel like literally dying to take out the Krawl woman.

Instead, she did something that caught the Krawl woman by surprise: she HUGGED Maja as tight as she could.

"No. No punishment. That would put at Krux's level, and that's not where I want to be. I'm human, and I fight him and his kind. I don't trust you completely, but… I feel I can at least forgive you for this… Just don't EVER do it again, alright? Cause no matter where we are, I'll punch you into space and LEAVE you there. Got it?" she said, and Maja nodded. She'd expected worse. This was, by far, the most shocking thing she'd ever witnessed. Krux had never once wasted time in punishing ANYONE or ANYTHING that failed or angered him. She'd expected Jeena to be the same. Apparently, she had a LOT to learn about humans.

Rallen was the one that shocked both of the girls, however, when the two found him out of bed and hugging them both tight from behind. He smiled when he saw their expressions of fright and worry.

"You two don't have to fight over me. I made my choice a long time ago, and even if it never comes to pass, I know exactly who I want in life. I'm not going to say who, and I'm NOT letting either of you change my mind. Oh, and Jeena, Could I have a word with you, PRIVATELY?" Rallen asked, stressing the final word with as much emphasis as he could. He let go of both, making sure to move slowly as he made his way back to the bed. Maja nodded and walked to the door, turning on her heel to wink at Rallen as the door slid shut behind her.

Rallen finally managed to climb back into bed with a bit of help from Jeena, smiled. He motioned for her to lean in close and whispered, "Keep quiet about it, Jeena. I chose you a long time ago." When he next looked Jeena in the eyes, he saw a mix of astonishment and worry.

"Then… why'd you say I wouldn't be able to change your mind?" Jeena asked. Rallen shook his head.

"Wow, Jeena! I never thought that the smarter of the two of us would miss this one!" he teased. Jeena blushed a bit as she tried to figure it out. Several minutes later, Rallen decided to help her out.

"Jeena… What that meant is that no matter what you might do to convince most other men that there's another woman out there for them, it won't work on me. No matter what you throw at me, you're my one and only choice. The only one I want," he said, and, looking over to the door, he continued, "I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME MAJA! NO AMOUNT OF MIND CONTROL WILL EVER MAKE ME CHANGE MY MIND!" There was a sound of scurrying outside, a signal that Maja was now officially clear of the area.

"But… but Rallen … I just… I stabbed you trying to kill Maja! I might hurt you again…" she stammered, feeling herself nearing the verge of tears again. Rallen saw this and sat up to hold his childhood friend as close as he could.

"Jeena, no matter WHAT you do to convince me otherwise, you're the only one I want. We're the greatest team ever… and maybe, with a little time, we could be more," he said, his voice going softer as he pulled out of the hug and leaned in. Jeena's eyes had been closed the entire time, but they nearly exploded out of their sockets when she felt it: a kiss.

Rallen, HER RALLEN, had just kissed her. Not on the cheek or the forehead… on the lips. She'd always had a dream where this happened, but forced it to the back of her mind every time, telling herself she needed to stay on task and help Rallen. Now, after inadvertently injuring him, he was not only forgiving her, but promising to her face that he'd never cheat on her… and sealing that promise lip-to-lip. She let her eyes slide shut as her world seemed to crumble away. She didn't even notice when Rallen reached a hand to hold the back of her head. She didn't noticed when he started pushing his tongue into her mouth, but instead let him and returned in kind. After what felt like forever, Rallen pulled away from the kiss, and Jeena's world started to build up again. She looked at him with a spaced-out look, and he simply smiled.

"IF, and I mean IF by some hell-sent disaster, I wind up hurting you in anyway, you have full right to do whatever you want. Beat me, neuter me, kill me; whatever you want, I won't care. It won't even come close to being able to atone for hurting you," Rallen said. Jeena's eyes welled up and she collapsed on Rallen's shoulder, bawling her eyes out while her fingers dug into his skin through his clothes. Rallen wrapped his arms around Jeena and held her tight. He could already tell things were going to go the way he'd always hoped they would.

Hours later, Rallen was deemed well enough to leave the infirmary, and he sat once more in his comfy pilot's chair. He grinned and looked over to Jeena, who had a smiling Komainu on her lap, while her special Hananomi sat atop her shoulder. Jeena had apologized to Komainu a few hours ago and the two had become good friends again.

Rallen turned on the ignition and set them into the depths of space once again. After a few hours of silence, Rallen broke the silence.

"Hey Maja, I was wondering… the other day when you collapsed, your facial marks changed, and you collapsed. What happened?" he asked. Jeena and Aldous got ready in case anything went wrong. Maja simply frowned.

"Well, since you asked so nicely, I'll tell you. The collapse was due to Krux severing his connection to me. As of five days ago, I serve him no more. He's no more my master than a rock or a grain of sand. As for my facial markings… Have any of you ever heard the legend of Kaio's lost planet of Molenia?" She looked around as everyone gave a shake of the head. She breathed deeply as she continued.

"Molenia was a small, destitute planet on the edge of the Kaio system that existed some thousand years ago, before the modern system came to be. Back then, every other planet had squadrons of spacecraft that would bring aide to Molenia to try and help them grow. However, one race, the Slayzonians, decided it would be better to control the Molenian people through force. That giant twister that surrounds the planet was in fact a weapon the Slayzonians developed to try and suck the planet to them."

"They told the Molenians that if they wanted their freedom, they'd agree to a war treaty with Slayzo and declare war on the rest of the system. Molenia refused, and Slayzo's forces moved in to attack. Within the span of an hour, Molenia was left worse off than it ever had been. Where it had been no more than a small sphere free-floating around Kaio's sun, it was now no more than a fifth of its original size; it became the equivalent of a rock falling in the ocean. Gronos, Gelberus, Jado and I are all that remains of the Molenian race, and we're high-bred Molenians, from the four elder families."

"Just as the remains of our home planets were about to fall into the sun of Kaio, Krux came to us and offered us a way off that rock… all we had to do was take a shred of his power. We did… and, well, you know the rest. We all became drunk with power in our own ways. Gronos, or Signo, as he'd been called back on Molenia, had always been a big eater, so the ability to absorb anything JUST by opening his stomach was the perfect fit for someone like him. Pyran, or Gelberus, as you now know him, had been a hothead with a short-fused temper before. Add a bit of Krawl power and fire to that and… that's what he became. A burning hunk of Krawl flesh with an attitude like you wouldn't believe."

"As for Jado and me… well, Somnus had always been a bit too stuck-up for his own good. He'd always been arrogant, but not to the point where he'd sacrifice others to rectify his own problems; he'd always get back up when he fell, shrug it all off, and try again until he got right what he'd gotten wrong. As for me… I was always sort of lonely… The sudden thought of having power and people around me to take away the loneliness were all I wanted. And it was what the power granted me… for about ten seconds."

After that, we were always so busy… I never saw any of them for very long. After about five hundred years, I found a way to have a bit of fun, and that was to dress the way you saw me every time we fought. But I was still always lonely… I guess the Krawl power just boosts your natural self and your ego to a point of no return. Gelberus had always talked of roughing up anyone who tried to hurt me… after turning Krawl, he gave up on that and decided to let himself loose. Jado never cared at all, so I should have known I'd get nowhere with him, and Gronos was always stuffing his face."

"After about three hundred years, Krux chose me to be his second-in-command, right after Jado. I spent enough time around Krux to develop … I believe you people call it a sort of school-girl crush on him… I wanted him to notice me. But all he ever saw was his end goal of destroying the universe. I'd always ask him what he'd do when that was done and he'd always slap me and tell me to go do something… But Krux has abandoned me."

"The way you see the markings on my face now is how they were before I accepted his infernal Krawl power. I'm my old self again… And through whatever means necessary, I'm going to pay him back for it all. I'm NOT letting him get away with what he's done all this time… That's why I've decided to help you, Rallen. You and the NPP deserve my aide more than Krux ever did. That is… if it's alright with you?" Maja finished her story with a question, and took a deep breath. Rallen and everyone else looked at her. Finally, Rallen broke the silence.

"Wow, I never thought that you and Aldous had ANYTHING in common! But, yeah, I'm cool with it. After we beat Krux, you're free to choose your own life," he said. Maja smiled and thanked him, but not before Rallen made one addition to his previous sentence.

"My only request for this, Maja, is that you don't try anything weird with me, alright? I can hold alcohol like no one's business, and I have a natural immunity to most drugs. Mind games don't work on me, so… you'll be hard pressed to find a way to make me change my mind," he said. Maja nodded.

"That's alright… I like a challenge, sometimes," she said, giving him a sly wink that she hoped Jeena hadn't picked up. A sharp slap to the face two seconds later told her that Jeena had.

Rallen shook his head and returned his focus to piloting the cruiser. Several hours later, they arrived in the far reaches of Nanairo, stopping between Himuro and Meido to await a dstress signal. They waited there in utter silence for what felt like an eternity; in reality, it was three days. However, that third day brought what they'd been waiting for: a distress signal, and from all the way out on Genshi.

"Well… let's not keep whoever it is waiting!" Rallen said, pointing the cruiser's helm toward the first planet of the Nanairo system and sending the spacecraft hurtling toward it like a bat out of hell. They didn't know what awaited them there…

_ED: "STEP you" – Ayumi Hamasaki_

To BE CONTINUED

Again, I thank you for bearing with me on this... I really need to finish my older stuff... anyway, R&R, CONSTRUCTIVE FLAMES are welcome! Anything else is going to be deleted.


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